091107 World In Brief 5 November 2009

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RCN INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT

WORLD IN BRIEF – 5 November 2009 Call for Abstracts and Papers International clinical nursing research conference in Canada The University of Ottawa, Canada has issued a call for papers for its conference on international clinical research taking place on 14 to 16 June 2010. They are inviting professors, clinicians, researchers, decision-makers and administrators to submit their research abstracts for either an oral presentation or as a poster in one of four themes that are: • • • •

Knowledge to political action Knowledge to patient care Knowledge to professional education Knowledge to organisational action.

The University of Ottawa will also accept clinical projects for presentation as a poster and all abstracts must include the title, the names or names of the authors and a maximum of a 300-word description. The deadline to submit an abstract is 30 November 2009 by email to [email protected].

Consultations Protecting the NHS in relation to patient mobility and cross-border health care Case law from the European Court of Justice allows patients to seek health care, including private care, in another country within the European Economic Area and their home country must pay if they are entitled to receive the treatment under their home health care system. The EEA member states consist of all twenty-seven EU member states as well as Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. The UK Department of Health has issued a consultation on its draft regulations and guidance on protecting the NHS in relation to patient mobility and cross-border health care. These documents aim to provide greater clarity to the NHS on the application of case law on cross-border health care, for both patients from the UK seeking treatment in another country and for incoming patients from other EEA member states. The DH is seeking views from NHS stakeholders on the content of these proposed interim regulations and guidance for their content, clarity and appropriateness of measures on prior

authorisation and reimbursement of costs. They anticipate bringing the regulations and guidance into force in January 2010. The RCN is responding to this consultation and is seeking members’ opinions to help formulate our submission. Please email [email protected] with your comments by 15 November 2009. Have your say on global health The European Commission’s development directorate recently issued a very broad issues paper looking at the European Union’s role in global health. This paper looks at the nature of global health, EU strategies and actions to date, and then continues to identify challenges and future potential areas for action. The EU is a major funder of international development assistance and this consultation is seeking views on action to stem the brain drain of health workers, what role civil society should play and what the priorities should be. There is a strong focus on equity and access to services. We are inviting our members’ views to help formulate the RCN’s response and if you would like to share your experiences or expertise in relation to the questionnaire, particularly from question nine onwards, please email your responses by 23 November to [email protected].

Employment and Social Affairs Update on the internationally agreed list of occupational diseases In October, a tripartite meeting of experts held by the International Labour Organization revised and adopted a new list of occupational diseases to help countries in the prevention, recording, notification and compensation of work-based illnesses. The ILO regularly reviews this list first compiled in 2002, adding newly-identified illnesses in order to maximise effective prevention strategies and appropriate compensation schemes. The revised list includes physical and mental illnesses such as occupational cancer or posttraumatic stress disorder. This new list will come into force following its approval by the ILO’s governing body at its March 2010 session.

Events International health: how to make a difference RCN Scotland is co-hosting an event in Edinburgh with Voluntary Services Overseas for all nursing staff with an interest in international health and volunteering abroad. This free event is aimed at all nursing staff who would like to either find out more information or who have previously volunteered abroad. It provides an opportunity to hear about other nurses’ experiences and for more information, or to book a place, please email [email protected] or phone 0131 662 6173.

Health Services Two-year project measuring global medical tourism The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development is an international organisation of thirty democratic countries, including the UK, enabling Governments to compare policy experiences, identify good practice and co-ordinate domestic and international strategies. The OECD’s health division recently held a roundtable meeting of health and tourism ministers as the rise in medical tourism is increasingly attracting notice from health analysts, public health policy-makers, trade, and tourism promotion agencies but there is relatively little data to inform them. The OECD presented a paper at this roundtable on tracking the growth in medical tourism as an aid to help Government Ministers shape this debate. This paper discusses a two-year project over 2009 to 2010 that will measure the extent of trade in health services, assess the impact of regulatory and trade reforms in services in order to develop evidence-based policies. They are collaborating closely with the European Commission, the World Health Organization and are extending the project to countries not in membership of the OECD.

Public Health Agreed recommendations on reducing communicable illnesses in prisons across Europe Over two million people are in penal institutions across Europe at any one time; prisons are extremely high-risk environments for the transmission of infectious diseases owing to factors such as overcrowding, poor nutrition and limited access to health care. Last month, a conference on prison health protection organised by the World Health Organization’s European region took place in Madrid where health experts from over fifty countries agreed a set of recommendations to tackle communicable diseases in prisons. The aim of the Madrid Recommendation is to ensure that, rather than making matters worse, prisons are a setting where health and health behaviours improve and to reduce the risk of re-offending. These measures include: • • • • • • •

Treatment programmes for infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and TB Treatment programmes for drug users Harm reduction measures Guidelines on hygiene requirements Guaranteed through care for prisoners on entry to and after release from prison, in close collaboration with stakeholders Mental health support for prisoners suffering from communicable diseases Training for all prison staff in the prevention, treatment and control of communicable diseases.

Diary 2009 1 July to 31 December

Swedish Presidency of the European Union Website for the Swedish Presidency in English

10 November

European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education Draft Agenda

11 to 12 November

European Parliament plenary session in Brussels Draft Agenda

Next Edition: Thursday 19 November 2009 For further information contact: Gabrielle Levy RCN European and International Information Assistant Email: [email protected] Tel: 020 7647 3929 James Bridge RCN EU/International Adviser Email: [email protected] Tel: 020 7647 3595